November 8, 2014: CFHT and Keck Observatories sponsored the
Solar System Walk from 10am - 2pm which started at the headquarters of Keck and ended at the
headquarters of CFHT down the main street in Waimea. The first 200 students completing the walk
received a free keiki ticket for the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo. Fun and refreshments were
enjoyed at the end of the walk also.

November 20, 2014: The Girls Exploring Math and Science (GEMS)
workshop for 5th grade girls was held at the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou
Bay from 7:45am - 2 pm. This event is hosted by the American Association of University Women
every year with help from local businesses, organizations(including CFHT), and individuals.
Click on the site below to learn more. Put this on your calendar for next year and return to this
site for information on registration.

December 6, 2014: CFHT held its annual Star Party on
the front lawn of our headquarters in Waimea starting right after the Christmas Parade down
the main street. We had exhibits inside, Ask an Astronomer, and viewing of the remote
observing room during nightime observations. We did not have great weather for viewing the night
sky with telescopes. Still we had a great crowd and had a raffle for tickets to Imiloa Science
Center in Hilo. The crowd enjoyed some coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies.

January 24, 2015: The Ellison Onizuka Day was held on the
campus of UH Hilo from 8am to 3:15pm. Students from grades 4-12 participated by watching
demonstrations, attending talks, and checking out all the booths. Go to the website below to
learn more and mark this in your calendar for next year.

February 7, 2015: The Hawaii District Science and Engineering Fair
was held at the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center on the UH Hilo campus. CFHT sent staff members to be
judges for this event. The students who win here go on to the State Science and Engineering Fair
on Oahu for a chance to go to the National Fair on the mainland.

February 18, 2015: CFHT hosted students from the Waimea Country School
for a visit to our downtown facilities and a talk by our Outreach coordinator, Mary Beth Laychak.

February 19, 2015: There was a career exposition in Hilo which was
attented by our Outreach coordinator. This was held at the Konpa Hongwanji Sangha Hall.

February 20, 2015: The director of CFHT, Doug Simons, gave a talk
at the 'Imiloa Astronomy center in Hilo at 7pm. It was well attended.

February 21, 2015: The West Hawaii Science Fair was held at the
Gateway Conference Building in Kona for the participating schools. CFHT scientists participated
as judges for this event.

March 1, 2015: Scientists from CFHT participated in the 9th Birthday
Celebration of the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo. Entry was free all day, and many observatories
were representated at the event.

March 12, 2015: This was the date for judging of the Mauna Kea Coin
contest entries. Staff members from CFHT were involved in the judging. The winner will be announced
at the 2015 AstroDay in Hilo (see below).

March 3-6, 2015: Scientists from CFHT participated in the
Journey Through the Universe program in schools in Hilo and Waimea.

Upcoming Events

March 13, 2015: There will be a free astronomy talk at the Kahilu
Theater in Waimea at 7pm. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will present, "America's Space Program:
NASA's Roadmap to Tomorrow's Missions".

May 2, 2015: AstroDay will be held in Hilo, at the Prince Kuhio Mall
from 10am-4pm. There will be many exhibits, entertainment on the main stage and hands on activities
for the keiki. This being the International Year of Light, there will be many opportunities for
learning more about light, and optics. Stay tuned to this site for more details as May approaches.

Here are two sites that have great graphics and explain many things going on around a
Black Hole. Check them out. The first one shows the regions of light that we can detect
around a black hole. The second one shows how light from behind a black hole behaves
as it passes a strong gravitational singularity. Can you find a few places
where an Einstein ring is formed?

The previously unknown comet had a close pass by our sun and survived. The article tells
a bit about the encounter but there is a link low in the article that shows the video of
the close encounter and the other interesting things that were seen by the SOHO satellite.

Since James Van Allen discovered the radiation belts around the Earth, astronomers
and Earth scientists have been studying them. Did you know that the Van Allen Probes
were out there sending information back to us? Try doing a search to learn more about
these spacecraft.

Eclipses - There will be a total solar eclipse occuring on March 20th, 2015.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to see it from Hawaii. Its path takes it
from the middle of the Atlantc ocean, N over the Pole and down into Russia.
If you just happen to be traveling to these places, you may have a chance to
view this event. NEVER EVER look directly at the Sun. Use a pinhole
projection. If you have access to a small telescope with a good narrow filter
then you could either project that image or use an eyepiece to look directly
at the sun. You could also use a projected image from a pair of binoculars.

The Lyrid Meteor shower will peak at 3:21am on April 21st.
Predictions are for 20 per hour and the Moon will not be around
so this may be a nice event this year. Look toward the constellation
Lyra before the sunrise for best viewing.

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower will be peaking on the afternoon of May
4th so look for this shower either the morning of the 4th or the 5th.
The moon will be just past Full, so will unfortunately be bright in
the morning sky. Predictions are for 60 per hour so may still be worth
watching.

All these meteor showers are best viewed from midnight to sunrise.
Meteors should be visible for 1-3 days either side of the peak also.
For more about watching meteor showers, check out the site for
The American Meteor Society.

Planets -

Mars will be a degree from the Moon on the evening of March 21th just after
sunset.

Venus will be 2.9 degrees from the Moon on the morning of March 22nd so look for
them together that evening after sunset.

Saturn will be 2.5 degrees from the Moon on the morning of April 8th at
3:08am.

Venus will be 2.6 degrees from the Pleiades in the morning of April 11th so
look for them before they set the evening of April 10/11th.

Mercury will be 1.7 degrees from the Pleiades at 3:30pm on April 30th so
look for them close together after sunset.

Saturn will be 2.1 degrees from the Moon on the morning of the 5th of May.
Look for them together before sunrise.

Saturn will be 2 degrees from the Moon on the morning of the June 1st so
find them close together this evening shortly after sunset.

Look for Venus close to the Beehive cluster at 22:59 on June 12th.

Saturn will be 2.1 degrees from the Moon again on the evening of June 28th.

Look for Venus and Jupiter close together in the evening of June 30, just
after sunset.

Comets - There are several challenging objects to find in the sky so check
out updates at the Sky Hound site:
Comet Chasing.
You may need binoculars or a small telescope to see the faintest of
these objects.

Equinox - The Vernal Equinox will occur on March 20th at 2:45 am HST.

All times listed above are HST unless otherwise indicated. The
link below contains many calendars and includes a nice section on
astronomical events. Check it out!

We gratefully acknowledge the following online
sources: Google Search Engine, and the Science Daily.
This page is compiled by
Lisa Wells, CFHT Remote Observer
This page is designed by Tito Jankowski, maintained by Lisa Wells,
CFHT Remote Observer